Stan and Kim in Cuba

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Traditionally, those are the three spiritual practices associated with cuaresma (the Lenten season). I have been thinking a lot lately about how seeing these three practices through a Cuban lens could be transformative for our context as church in the US. Here are some thoughts on ways to re-imagine the disciplines during these forty days of renewal and preparation for Holy Week and Easter: First, prayer. I have spent a lot of time in recent years learning how to engage in "centering prayer," a contemplative way to listen to God and deepen relationships with the Holy. But, given our social location in the US as the "center" of the world with our superpower status, maybe we don't really need any more "centering." What if we spent forty days in "de-centering" prayer, a contemplative practice that would move us to the margins? Here's an idea of what such a prayer practice might involve: If English is your fir...

When Stan and I returned to the United States on December 20, 2020, we found ourselves again confronted with culture shock.  This is not a surprise for us, as we have had to do it in our comings and goings over the years.  However, this time it was a bit more challenging. First, we did not choose to return. Our request for another year’s residency card was denied. We believe that we will be able to return this coming year but on shorter term visas. However, we returned feeling a bit ripped from our hearts as we had many things we wanted to do there during the final days of Advent, Christmas, New Year’s and Epiphany.  However, it was a comfort to be able to reconnect with family and friends in North Carolina during this holiday time. Second, the temperatures were bitterly cold for us coming from a tropical climate. I began to put on three shirts, a sweater, a jacket, two pairs of socks and sometimes a hat. And all that was just inside the house!  We also had snow on C...

(blog by Kim)  Today, inauguration day, I am feeling a strange mixture of emotions—inspiration that has brought me to tears, alongside crankiness that provokes some serious complaints. (In one of Stan’s recent blogs, he confessed that he is cranky; I suspect it may be contagious). The inaugural songs, the poetry, the prayers, the speeches— they were all delivered so beautifully, with so much passion and integrity, that I could not help but be caught up in the euphoria of the moment (accompanied by a sense of relief that no violent actions materialized).   So why complain? Why be cranky on such a day of celebration? At least part of it was the thread of American exceptionalism woven throughout the ceremony. (This was the theme that Stan had written about in that last blog, a topic I also heard critiqued by a writer for the New York Times on Morning Edition a while ago).   This fervor of belief in the civil religion of American Democracy had a chorus of voices on the night ...

(blog by Stan) "Ain't That America." Wednesday afternoon indeed gave us “something to see”, to quote Mellencamp. I felt like I was at a Nascar race watching a horrific wreck at high speed. I was glued to it. Same for Wednesday night, with the Senate debate. Speech after five-minute speech, almost all (on both sides) eloquent and passionate expressions of both outrage at the mob’s desecration and inspiring hope and belief in what “America” really is. I was awake most of the night trying to figure out how to express exactly why these speeches had the opposite effect on me than what the speakers desired; they launched me into my crankiest mode of being, and this morning when I started to find the words to express my cranky contrariness, I kept having to lower my voice (Kim doesn’t like being yelled at). It was the confluence of several things: the unquestioned belief in American Superiority (the more fashionable phrase “American Exceptionality” was originally coined, interes...

 (blog by Kim) Yesterday and last night we witnessed terrifying events that revealed clearly the kind of harvest that seeds of poison produce. The people who stormed the Capitol were called “thugs” by many of the Senators who felt threatened and violated by their invasion into their sacred spaces. However, those inside the Senate who continued to raise objections to the democratic electoral process were also thugs, masquerading in elegant suits and ties. The masquerading thugs inside shamelessly continued to give credence to the outside thugs, emboldening them to continue their drive for vengeance and domination. Those Senators were trying to authenticate and validate lies, and in so doing they were encouraging these kinds of violent mob actions to be repeated in state capitols around the country. More than once, Senators said that they were only voicing the concerns of "the people." Would they think it right to “voice the concerns” of the Ku Klux Klan to preserve white Ameri...

  (blog by Kim) What a surprise! The current administration has put the wheels in motion to place Cuba on the "state sponsors of terrorism" list. The only bigger surprise for me is why, in light of their consistently punitive and unjust policies, it has taken so long for them to do it. Sure, Cuba has long been a "terror" to the US, as leaders here have been terrified that an alternate system might prove to work, right in their back yard, and have done all in their power to ensure that it will not be successful. So now they want to isolate their neighbor even further, by putting them in the same boat as the three other global stooges on the State Department's list: Syria, Iran, and North Korea. This latest piece of news reminds me of the character of Saruman in the end of the book The Return of the King , by JRR Tolkien. The defeated wizard Saruman was in the Shire, the home of the hobbits, doing as much damage as he could before Frodo and company returned. He bo...

(blog by Stan) Traditionally, today (December 31) is a big day for Cuban cuisine. The fin de año family meal generally consists of roast pork, yucca with mojo, arroz congri, and a tomato/cucumber salad (nothing like having fresh tomatoes in December!). Wash it down with generous rounds of Bucanero or Cristal, depending on your taste. Top it off with a flan and a tasita of strong, sweet café, and you're ready to raise a toast to the new year (with a shot of Havana Club Añejo Especial, sin hielo).   Like most of the world, the traditions are not quite what they used to be this year in Cuba. It has been a time of growing food insecurity, with long lines and empty shelves defining the daily búsqueda for the proteina. The meal options have narrowed more and more, as common ingredients in the Cuban kitchen became more and more scarce. For the last couple of months we were in Cuba, lots of folks were worrying about us, that we were losing weight, looking too thin. I heard it from a friend...